The Good, the Bad and the Uglies
by thegoddesskym
Summary: One, a aspiring doctor in college, the other a member of a New Yorker gang. The one fears the dark, the other hides in it. Their worlds had never meant to collide, not like this. Nor had anyone ever expected for them to fall in love. Or: The one where Nico jumps out of a car and Will just wanted some milk.
1. How Will gets milk and a guest

**Hi!**

 **After a couple months of absence I decided to write another fic (yay) It's Solangelo. Again. It seems that this is the only pairing I can truly write. Anyway, this is a Gang AU, inspired by the Thalico OS I wrote for my AU-collection. I give you a small warning, this is rated T because of fights, language, blood and suggestive themes later (nothing explicit) on. Maybe more if I find something.**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

 **PS: The title is inspired by the movie 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'. It has nothing to do with it, the title just fit**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – How Will got milk and a guest**

Will Solace never thought of himself as special. In the mornings he went to college, in the afternoon he went to his internship in a small clinic and in the evening he went to his job as a waiter in a restaurant. He owned, fortunately, a small flat and had barely enough money to get by. He was a completely regular college student.

The most exciting thing that ever happened to him was a hiking trip in Canada, where is family got attacked by a moose and he later fell into a lake.

Since he was young he wanted to be a doctor, just like his parents. During his high-school time he volunteered in a clinic for children and helped out the school nurse, apparently that was enough to get him into a pre-med program in a respected college in New York. It was called Olympus College and was located in the south of Manhattan. His flat was about three blocks away from it.

Closing the door behind him, Will skipped down the stairs from his building and went on his way to the nearest grocery store. It was a rather nice day in June, his break, and the exams, only a couple weeks away, and Will really enjoyed walking down the sidewalk in the last fading rays of the evening sun. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to go out this late, but he really needed milk and he just got home from his internship.

Sometimes he thought that he shouldn't have taken it on. He barely had time for himself between all the work and he also had to study for his upcoming exams. Then he told himself that it was a perfect opportunity for him and that he should be glad he got it. He also really liked working at the clinic.

He rounded a corner into another street and could see the sign of the store up ahead. Next to it was a Chinese Take-Away.

Will felt for the money in his pocket, trying to judge whether he had enough for some fried rice or not.

He passed a small alley and hurried up a bit. The alley was pitch black and muffled sounds came out of it. If there was one thing Will was afraid of, it was dark alleys. It was kind of dumb, seeing as he was living in New York, with all its alleyways and darkness. Especially when it got dark, then the city was downright scary to Will. He knew what was out there, he wasn't stupid after all, and he didn't plan on ever meeting any of these things or people. It was one of the reasons he avoided dark alleys, even if it meant taking a longer route. Will had no desire to get mugged or stabbed or worse.

Walking past the alley, he briefly wondered what made the sound and hoped for a stray cat or something. Maybe two people in love. Hopefully nothing bad. He didn't dare glance into it to find out.

After he had passed the alley, he breathed a small sigh of relief. Nothing had happened. Then he immediately scolded himself for thinking like that. If he only ever expected the worse, it would happen.

He had once told his friend Cecil about his fear and the other boy had started laughing at him, asking why he even moved to New York if he was so scared of the city. It wasn't that he was scared, Will had argued, he loved the city, he just didn't like darkness. Cecil just had resumed laughing.

Shaking his head to clear his head of the embarrassing memory, he entered the store. The cashier, an elderly woman, gave him a judging look and then went back to her magazine about knitting.

Will made his way to the milk, picking up a package of butter and a glass of jam on his way. He mentally went through his fridge and the cupboards, thinking of what other things he needed. Maybe some water, and a bit of juice.

He picked up the milk, glad he could now eat his cereal again, and made his way over to the drinks.

After he got everything, he walked towards the checkout and handed the cashier his things, followed by the needed amount of money. He accepted the bag the woman offered and put his things in, before wishing her a good night and leaving the store again.

He did stop at the Take-Away, ordering a portion of fried rice with chicken and then leaned against one of the tables standing there. He cast a glance at his watch. Nearly nine in the evening. He was glad he didn't have to work today, because he was exhausted.

A young woman came up to the Take-Away to order her food and Will let his gaze travel over his surroundings. His eyes fell on a flyer of the Take-Away, with a phone number printed on it and a banner saying that you could order over the phone, too. He picked one up and stuffed it in the bag with his groceries.

"Order number 7", the guy behind the counter said and Will walked towards it to pick his food up.

Just has he was reaching for it, shouting broke out on the street, followed by a loud crash. The man was staring at something behind Will, frozen in shock and Will quickly grabbed his food, before turning around to see what was going on. Not one of his best ideas.

There was a bright flash of yellow, followed by a loud _boom_.

Will took a startled step backwards, slamming into the counter. His ears where ringing from the sound and his sight was disrupted by a huge bright dot. He barely registered, the people around him or the shouting that started up again, nor did he notice the elderly woman from the shop hobbling out to stare.

The ringing subsided and Will blinked to get the spot away. He looked up again and his eyes immediately fixed on the source of the explosion.

The car wreck was smashed against the wall of a house, not that far away from him, burning brightly. The house itself looked a bit better, at least it wasn't burning, but there was a hole in it. People from all around the street were yelling or running towards the wreck. The guy behind the counter was on his phone dialing 911, while a woman was storming out of her house, brandishing a fire extinguisher.

Will could only stand there and stare.

He had never actually witnessed – or in his case, heard – a car accident before, especially not one so deadly. Sure, he had seen the results of some, even helped take care of a young girl who had survived one, but he had never seen it actually happening. The people in the car must be dead by now, no-one would survive the gas tank exploding while sitting above it.

Blaring sirens and the flashing of lights pulled Will out of his thoughts. The fire brigade had arrived, followed shortly by the police and the ambulance. The police herded the spectators away from the burning car and one officer walked around asking for witnesses.

"You okay?", asked a voice behind Will.

The younger man turned around, finally tearing his gaze away from the car. The man behind the counter was looking at him, worry in his eyes.

"Are you alright? Standing under shock?", he continued to ask.

Will quickly shook his head.

"I'm fine, just a bit startled.", he assured the man.

Will gripped his groceries and took his box of Chinese food, before starting down the side-walk.

"Sir, I must ask you to stay", a voice called after him and he turned to see a police officer, walking towards him.

Panic flared up in Will. He didn't do anything wrong, did he? Did they suspect him? What does the officer want from him?

"We are trying to reconstruct the accident and would like to ask you a few questions.", he continued.

Will blinked a few times and then sighed, panic leaving his system.

"I didn't see anything, just heard the crash and then I saw the explosion", Will quickly said.

The officer nodded and asked for his name before telling him to go home.

Will started walking again, the shouting, sirens and the light fading into the background. His mind was swirling with questions. He wanted to now what happened, how many had died and much more. Obviously, the police had no clue and from what Will saw, the car was on the wrong side of the road. How did it get there? Something was off about this accident, Will just knew that, but he didn't know what.

He was on the height of the alley again and it seemed even darker than before. Probably because the streetlamps and the lights behind the windows were the only source of light at the moment. The sun had completely disappeared during his shopping trip. The stretch of street in front of him was completely empty and startled, Will realized he was the only one around. Most were either at the accident or had gone home, like him.

This time he glanced into the alley, just to make sure nothing would jump out at him. His gaze flitted over dumpsters, a small puddle of blood and someone sitting against the wall. Then the alley was behind him and he stopped dead in his tracks.

Blood? Someone was hurt!

He whirled around and walked back to the alley, peeking around the corner and into it. His gaze landed on the hunched over figure in the back of the alley, and then traveled to the puddle of blood. It was not much, but it must still be a major wound.

Will took a step forward but hesitated. What if the injured person was dangerous? What if they attacked him?

The scared part of his brain whispered worst case scenarios into his ear, edging him on to run back home and lock the door. The other parts of his brain, the confident and the worried ones, told him to move forward and help.

Will gulped down the last bit of fear and took a step into the alley. The other didn't seem to notice him. Cautiously, he set one foot in front of the other, fishing his phone out of his pocket and lighting up the screen. The person in front of him stiffened and they looked up.

Dark eyes met Will's for a second and then hardened into a glare. A clear sign that they didn't want him here.

"Uh sorry, but are you alright?", Will asked.

He internally winced at the stupid question. The person clearly wasn't alright.

Due to the small source of light in the otherwise dark alley, Will could make out more of the person in front of him. He, Will decided it must be a 'he', was wearing a black hoodie, with the hood up and shielding his face from view. On one side, the fabric was torn to shreds, blood staining the torn pieces there. There was also blood slowly dripping out of a wound just below his right shoulder. It looked a bit like a stab wound, but could also be a bullet wound. It was hard to say in the dim lighting.

In response to Will's question, the guy shot him another death glare.

Instead of turning around, Will etched closer, determined to help the guy, whether he wanted or not. A muffled sound came from the boy and he tried to scoot away from Will, resulting in him falling over and letting out a cry. Will wondered what was blocking him from speaking. Or getting back up. Where the wounds really this severe?

"Calm down, I will call the ambulance. Just...don't die", Will said, trying to be soothing, but the oncoming panic was clearly noticeable in his voice.

An alarmed shout was heard, not loud or clear enough for Will to make out any words, but the message was clear enough. No. Why wouldn't the guy want to go to the hospital?

"I don't care that you don't want to, you need to go to the hospital!", Will told him sternly.

He angled his phone towards himself again and tapped the 9. Before he could tap the 1 however, the boy kicked out, sending his phone flying out of his hand. It clattered to the floor a couple feet away and bounced a bit, before landing in the blood. Will let out a surprised yelp and then stared down at the guy. He had shifted a bit and was struggling to sit up again.

"What the- Why did you do that?", Will exclaimed, completely confused and a bit angry.

That phone had been expensive and now it was covered in the blood of some random guy in some random alley who refused help.

Will was sure, by the look in the guy's eyes, he would have gotten some smart ass answer, but apparently he was unable to speak at the moment. That was still a little confusing, but he had to worry about that later.

"Do you want to die?", Will asked him.

The boy shook his head.

"Then why won't you let me call the ambulance?", Will asked, still not understanding this guy's problem.

The boy didn't say anything anymore, not that he did that before, just let his head drop down. For a moment Will thought he had fallen unconscious.

He jumped to his feet and ran over to his phone, picking it up. It had a few specks of blood on the display and the phone case was completely red, other than that it seemed fine. He freed it from his case and cleaned the front on his trousers, before running back to the other one. He crouched down next to him, lighting up the phone again. He was ready to dial 911 again, when he shifted his head and looked at him.

He was still alive.

Will nearly let out a whoop in joy. The boy hadn't died on him, he could still help him.

Then Will looked towards him again, freezing in shock and fear. Due to being a lot closer to him, the light of the phone actually was bright enough for Will to see the boy's face. However, there was something blocking the view. Until a few seconds ago, Will had thought, the hoodie's shadow was the reason he couldn't see anything of the face of the boy, but now, he actually knew what was there, obscuring the view. It was a dark green bandana, covering everything except for the eyes. It looked a bit crooked, as if it went through something rough, and had some swirls in different shades of green and gray, but what was the most shocking was the pitch black scythe in the middle of it.

Will gulped. No wonder the guy didn't want to go to the hospital, he would probably get arrested as soon as he stepped foot into it.

Not knowing what to do, Will awkwardly looked around the alley. He wasn't sure if he should still help. The boy was a member of a gang, it was obvious and the scythe showed Will what gang.

He had heard about the Titánio Kai Gígantes, a group of ruthless, unpredictable murderers. It was hard to believe that this boy, who looked so skinny and fragile and was currently bleeding to death, was a killer.

He looked towards the boy again, who was blinking to keep his eyes open. From what Will could see, the boy was extremely pale and starting to loose focus, a clear sign of too much blood loss.

It was a split second decision, he didn't even think about it until it was done. Will picked up the boy and lifted him in his arms bridal style. He could hear some sounds, probably of protest, and the boy tried to wriggle out of his grip. Will, however, wouldn't let go, and started speed-walking towards his flat, glad it wasn't far.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, the scared voice was yelling at him for bringing a potential murderer into his home, but he ignored it, set on saving the boy's life.

* * *

 **Titánio Kai Gígantes is Greek for Titans and Giants, by the way**

 **I wish you a Happy New Year, see you in 2016!**

 **~thegoddesskym**


	2. How Nico ruins a perfectly good car

**Hello!**

 **I hope you had a nice New Year (mine was good, thank you. Here is the next chapter!**

 **PS: The story will mainly be in Will's POV, except for a few chosen chapters**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - How Nico crashed a pefectly good car**

A door slammed, startling Nico di Angelo from his short nap. He looked up, blinking slightly against the sharp light of the single lamp in the room. He could make out a figure standing in front of the door, but not more. It took a while until is eyes adjusted to the sudden light and the figure became clear.

It was a rather tall man, a lot taller than Nico, but that wasn't saying much. He was short. He was wearing sunglasses and the standard bandana of the Titánio Kai Gígantes, green with the black scythe, was around his neck. Apparently he loved the gang so much that he also dyed his hair green. He looked ridiculous, but Nico wouldn't tell him that. He already had enough broken bones in his right hand, he didn't need more. So he kept his mouth shut and just glared at the guy, waiting for him to start the conversation. Whoever that man was, he wasn't a talker.

Minutes went by without either of them saying something and Nico started to feel anxious. This wasn't good. He hadn't been in here long, just a couple of days, but he had quickly learned that silence never was a good thing. It more often than not meant waiting for an interrogation and those were something the young Demigod didn't enjoy in the least.

Before he was captured by some of the Titans, the less brutal section of the Titánio Kai Gígantes, he had only heard stories about what happened to prisoners in Tartarus, their headquarters. Rumors about pain, torture and death. It had never been a place Nico wanted to go, but on a cloudless night in June it had happened.

He had been running an errand for the Demigods in Brooklyn and been a bit too careless about it, now paying the price for it. It wasn't the first time one of them had been captured by the Titans and he certainly wouldn't be the last, but until now, none of them had returned, alive that is.

Since Nico could remember it, they were at war with the Titánio Kai Gígantes. The Demigods, a gang from the northern parts of Manhattan, were the only ones who could still defy them, all the other gangs were either extinguished or had a treaty with them. Since then the Titans had randomly attacked members of the Demigods, either killing them or taking them prisoner for interrogation. Either way, they ended up dead.

Nico knew he was going to die. No-one had made it out of their clutches before and Nico certainly wouldn't make it either. He just wasn't good enough for that.

Sometimes he wondered if the rest of the Demigods had made a shroud for him. It was their tradition to burn a shroud for every fallen member and a couple years ago, after the last rescue mission had failed, they started to make the shrouds after each prisoner was taken. They wouldn't be coming back, so why wait? That was their excuse. Nico had always suspected that it was because the elder ones didn't want to think about their dead family for too long.

At other times he wondered if they had even noticed him missing.

He didn't know how long he had been gone, time was hard to tell in this cell. It was completely white, with a single bright light at the top and a dark gray chair, Nico was currently tied to. The chair had appeared not that long ago, maybe a day, maybe two. It was hard to say.

The door opened again and Nico shifted his gaze from the green haired guy to the newcomer, dread settling into his stomach. He didn't want another interrogation, he probably wouldn't survive that.

The new guy looked exactly like the first, just with purple hair. Probably twins. He was holding a phone, but other than that, Nico could not find anything that could harm him. Didn't mean anything, but a little flame of hopefulness started burning in his chest.

"You are being transferred", the second guy said.

The first one started to grin, which really creeped Nico out. Whatever it was that made him so happy, it couldn't be good.

"Transferred?", Nico asked.

His voice sounded raspy, he should drink more.

"You think we kill our prisoners here? Imagine the stench of all that rotting flesh", the first guy said.

"Otis", hissed the second and shook his head subtly.

He obviously didn't want Nico to hear about this. It made Nico more curious. So this place, where he would die, it was where all the others had too? Maybe if he could send a sign to the Demigods when he was there, they could finally bury their fallen. It would be too late to save him, of course, but that didn't matter.

Nico had known he would die young since he formally signed up, when he was ten.

His whole family had been apart of the Demigods, so it was only logically for him to honor them by also being a member of the gang.

Otis snapped Nico out of his thoughts by pulling him from the chair roughly. He hadn't even noticed being untied. He couldn't enjoy his newfound freedom for long, because in the next second, the second guy pulled his arms forward and quickly bound them together with zip tie. The hard plastic dug into the skin of his hands and Nico had to refrain from voicing his pain.

They shoved him forwards and lead him out of the room. Nico stumbled a bit. He hadn't used his legs in a while and it hurt to walk. Thankfully they didn't walk long, because at the end of the hallway, a elevator dinged open. The two men shoved him in, not giving Nico any chance to catch himself before slamming into the floor.

Otis grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back up, then pressed the button for the first floor. Nico was gritting his teeth, trying to breath through the pain flaring up in his right arm. He was so focused on that, he missed the door opening again.

They stepped into a garage only occupied by a SUV. A woman was standing next to it, tapping her foot and glaring at them.

"Otis, Ephialtes, you're late", she snarled.

Otis visibly gulped, while the other guy – Ephialtes – just nodded.

"Sorry, Pasiphae, I was busy", he said.

Apparently Pasiphae knew with what he had been busy because she grinned wickedly. Nico didn't want to know.

"Anyway, hurry up. We are going out for some drinks tonight and it would be better you would be back by then", she said.

Then she stepped around them, going back towards the elevator. Ephialtes pushed Nico towards the SUV, but didn't let him get in yet. The windows of the car where all darkened so no-one would suspect anything. Other than that there was nothing special about it. Hundreds of cars like this were on the roads of New York everyday.

Otis gave a bandana to Ephialtes, followed by some duct tape. He had one hand still wrapped tightly around his arm, forcing Nico to stay put while they put the bandana around his eyes, rendering him blind. Then there was a tug on his arm and Nico cried out in pain.

"Stop, he's too loud", one of the twins said.

Before Nico could process what they meant, something sticky was put over his mouth. His eyes widened in shock, not that he could see any better. Had they just put duct tape over his mouth? He tried to say something, but nothing came out. Just great.

The next thing he knew, he landed in the back of the SUV, two doors slammed and the car started moving. There were no seats there and Nico would have groaned if he could. He struggled a bit to sit up and when he did he blinked slightly to get the light away.

Wait, light?

He opened his eyes fully, surprised to find himself able to see. Wasn't he blindfolded not a second ago?

The bandana was still there, but not as tight as before. It had been folded when placed over his eyes and due to the rough landing it must have slipped. It was now resting on the bridge of his nose, the rest of the bandana completely unfolded. The edge of it was tickling against his chin. He probably looked like a typical bandit from the old western films.

Nico looked around, trying to find out if the twins had seen him, but noticed that he was facing the back. Through the window he could see a light brown building. That must be the HQ of Titánio Kai Gígantes. Nico didn't recognize the neighborhood, so he attentively stared out of the window, until he recognized something. It came in the form of a restaurant Nico and his friend Reyna had eaten at just before he was captured. It wasn't all that far away from the HQ, which meant he could probably show the others were it was. But for that he had to get out of this car.

He risked a glance toward the front, where Ephialtes was driving and Otis was staring into space. There was a gun in a holster at his side, if Nico could just get it...

He looked away again and down at his bound hands. He had to figure out a plan or he would die and then the Demigods would never be able to find the HQ.

A few minutes later, they were now in a completely different part of New York, in southern Manhattan, which was also good to know, he noticed something.

Outside it was getting dark and Nico was starting to loose the little shimmer of hope, so he just let his gaze drift over the back, trying to distract himself from his impending doom. Somehow the thought of dying wasn't nearly as scary as the thought of not being able to help his family. His gaze landed on the door behind Otis and he nearly laughed. It wasn't locked. The door wasn't locked.

Of course, at this speed jumping out of a car would probably kill him, but if the car went just a bit slower he could make a run for it. Where was a traffic jam if you needed one.

They turned onto a smaller street, Otis said something about driving around traffic and Nico cursed internally. The only option now was to crash the car. Or grab the gun and hope for the best. Nico settled for the second option.

He whirled around, as fast as he could, grabbed the weapon, unlocked it and pointed it at Otis. He wanted to say something, but unfortunately that was impossible. Ephialtes glanced back and cursed. But he didn't slow down. Instead he grabbed under his seat.

Nico cursed, it came out as something muffled not even he understood.

Otis was turning around, swinging a arm and knocking the gun out of Nico's hands. Then he climbed over the seat to get to him. Nico scrambled back. If it came to a fist fight, his hands would be useless tied together. So he opted for the next best thing. He kicked Otis in the face, smashing the sunglasses under his boot.

The Giant screamed and then charged. He threw himself at Nico, slamming both of them to the ground. The car jumped a bit.

Otis punched Nico, only grazing the side of his face due to a sharp turn. Still, the hit stung.

"Just kill him already!", Ephialtes yelled from the front.

Immediately, there were hands on Nico's throat, squeezing painfully. Oh shit.

Suffocating was one of the worst ways Nico could imagine to die. That and drowning.

His lungs started to hurt and breathing became harder with each second. Nico did the only thing his oxygen-deprived mind could think of. He kneed Otis in the balls.

The hands disappeared and with a whimper, Otis curled up.

Nico took a few deep breaths and pushed Otis off, before grabbing the gun again. He needed to get out of this car.

Normally, Nico had no problem focusing on his target, but this time, in a driving SUV, with not enough oxygen in his body and pain shooting up his arm, it was a lot harder. He blamed it on that that he missed and only hit Ephialtes in the shoulder.

He yelled in pain and turned around, a dagger in hand. Maybe his mind, too, was clouded with pain, because he forgot he was driving.

The car swerved to the right, losing speed. Nico was thrown against the door. This speed had to be enough.

He fumbled with the handle of the door, hoping there wasn't a mechanic locking system or he would be dead within the next second. Ephialtes was now completely turned around, slashing with the dagger.

Nico ducked under a swing and blocked another with the gun, a bullet going off and burying itself in the floor next to a still whimpering Otis. Nico was so distracted by the bullet, that he didn't notice the next swing. Only the fiery pain of a dagger burying itself into the flesh just below his right shoulder, teared him out of it.

Nico would have screamed, if he could. So, only a muffled cry came over his lips and tears shot into his eyes.

Ephialtes pulled the dagger out again and went in for another stab.

The next seconds were strange. Nico didn't realize what was happening around him, he only noticed the fire burning in his shoulder. His body acted on his own, all these years of fighting and training paying off.

With a kick to the shoulder, Ephialtes went flying against the steering wheel. The whole car now changing the side of the road. Another shot with the gun and Otis finally stopped whimpering, then Nico dropped it, opened the door and fell out of the car.

Hitting the asphalt was painful, but not as bad as sliding a few feet until he came to a halt. His actions just caught up to him and he winced.

His shoulder still felt as if it was on fire and the left side of his body felt like he just tore open the skin there. He quick look down confirmed it. His hoodie was completely torn and he could see that most of the skin was too.

Then there was a loud crash and Nico looked over his shoulder. The car had slammed into a building, but Nico really wasn't concerned about that. He needed to get away, find some Demigods.

Slowly he got back up to his feet, which was hard. He took a few stumbled steps, before slipping into the next best alley. Thankfully everybody was too concerned with the crash and the explosion that just went off to pay him any mind. Once inside the alley, he leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting. He sighed, leaning his head on his knees.

The pain was subsiding, slowly being replaced by a numb feeling, which wasn't a good sign. How much blood had he lost? It didn't matter. He was bleeding out and there was nothing he could do against it. With the state he was in, it was impossible to reach the Demigods now. He was in a completely wrong part of Manhattan. He could never tell them about the HQ, or the other place. Hopefully they could find his corpse. He didn't want to end up in a hospital were they discovered the mark.

The only downside at the moment was that he was still bound, gagged and wearing the stupid bandana of the Titánio Kai Gígantes.

* * *

 **So, I hope you liked it!**

 **I will update again during the week, so see you there**

 **~thegoddesskym**

 **PS: Am I the only one who can't read reviews? Since the 31. every review is unable to be seen, not just here but other stories too. Please tell me I'm not the only one**

 **PPS: If you have that problem, too, then check your emails (if you get some for reviews) and read them there, it's how I do it, so you can still send me reviews :)**


	3. How Will saves a life

**Hello!**

 **Thank you all for the nice reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - How Will saves a life**

Will had discovered some new thinks about the mysterious boy, except for the fact that he was in a gang. His hands were tied together and he suspected there were more injuries than he could see right now. Whatever happened to him, it probably wasn't nice.

His flat was quiet and dark, when he entered. Placing the boy on the table, he pushed his books from it, letting them fall to the ground. Then he ran to get his medical kit. The boy was out of it now, having falling unconscious once they were through the front door.

Coming back into the room, Will noticed the books and picked one up, quickly flipping to the page about bigger wounds.

In the light of the lamps, he could see that it was definitely a stab wound, probably a dagger or something. The boy was still bleeding, so Will went to work on stopping that first.

While working on saving the boys life, he pondered whether he should take the hoodie off or not. And the zip ties should go too. Quickly he grabbed a pair of scissors and cut them open, before doing the same with the hoodie. The guy will just have to get a new one. Underneath it was a light t-shirt, black too. It was down on the floor in seconds and Will could finally get to work on the stab wound.

Sadly, Will didn't have anything to monitor the guy or to sedate him. From what he could tell, the boy had a low but thankfully stable enough pulse, the breathing was ragged but also okay and he was completely out of it so he wouldn't feel anything anyway.

While cutting the thread, he wondered why he was helping the boy again. He was a criminal, after all.

It had taken about an hour until Will was finished and at that point he was glad he did it. The pulse was completely stable now, not necessarily stronger, but it was definitely better. Then Will went to work on the boy's other side, briefly wondering what his name was. Most of the scratches had stopped bleeding, so he stitched up only the major ones and cleaned the others.

Will, for the umpteenth time that day, wondered what exactly happened. He let his gaze travel over the body in front of him, trying to find any other injuries. It was the first time he truly looked at the boy and he had to say, not bad.

He was skinny, seriously pale and covered in scars, cuts and bruises, but he had some well-defined muscles and very soft looking black hair. There was also a tattoo in the form of a Greek Omega on his left side of the chest and Will wondered what it stood for. He just wondered what his face looked like. Quickly washing his hands and cleaning them of the blood, he went back to his side and carefully untied the bandana. Would he get killed for doing this? His curiosity outweighed his fear and he pulled the bandana away. There was a bruise starting to form on his left cheekbone and huge shadows under his eyes. What shocked Will the most however, was the silvery duct tape placed over his mouth. Well, that explained why he couldn't speak.

More and more, Will got the feeling that this boy wasn't actually a member of the gang but something like a prisoner. Gangs took prisoners, right? But it still didn't explain the bandana. Why would he have it if he wasn't part of it? He looked back down towards the boy and ripped the tape away, leaving behind a slightly red spot.

Will took a deep breath and looked at his watch again. Shortly after one. Thankfully he didn't have any classes tomorrow. Earlier, he had noticed the broken hand and arm of the boy and pulled out one of his text books. He had never set bones before and they hadn't covered it yet in college. But, he had seen others do it often enough to have a bit of an idea what he was supposed to do and he would just read up the rest. Maybe there was a site on the internet like 'Mending bones for Dummies'. Shortly after that thought crossed his mind, he threw it out. Who knows what is right on the internet. So the books had to do.

After a bit of skimming the pages, he found a chapter on broken bones in one book and one about healing them in another. Sitting down next to the passed out boy, he began reading. It was all very complex and he will have to be careful with the pieces. Looking down at the broken hand, he wondered how severe the injury was. He couldn't tell from the outside. Where there splinters? How many of the fingers were fractured? How about the arm? Was there more than just one fracture? So many questions. Will wished desperately for a X-ray.

He focused back on his book. Feeling for the bones could work out. He set the books aside and gingerly took the boy's arm, feeling for the bones.

It wasn't hard, seeing as the guy was very thin. He could feel were the bone was broken and it didn't seem like there were any splinters. Now to set it. He followed the instructions of the book carefully and went to work. It took another half an hour, by then he had a makeshift cast and was very proud of himself.

He mentally patted himself on the back. _Well done, Solace_. He would worry about the hand later. Maybe he could convince the boy to come to the clinic with him, they had an X-ray there and if they didn't see any of the other wounds, they wouldn't call the cops. But now it was time for bed.

He picked up the boy again and carried him to the small sofa. Then he grabbed a blanket and threw it over the boy so he wouldn't get cold. The blanket would be full of blood and grime tomorrow, but Will didn't really care.

He made his way into his room, behind the room divider, and fell on his bed. Even before his head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep.

* * *

He woke up around noon the next day, groggily blinking the sleep out of his eyes. The room was bathed in sunlight, Will had forgotten to close the blinds last night. He slipped out of bed and walked into his kitchen/living room on the other side of the divider to pour himself a cup of water. Sipping on his drink, he turned around, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His gaze landed on a sleeping person on his sofa and he nearly screamed.

Instantly all the memories of last night came back and he rushed towards the boy. Kneeling down next to him, he checked his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found it stronger than in the night. That was good.

Afterwards he went to get cleaned up, changed his bedspread and packed his bag for his internship. All the while his thoughts were with the sleeping boy on his sofa. He had a few theories about how the boy got his injuries, but they all seemed totally over the top or plain stupid. When it was time to leave for the clinic, he took one last look at his patient.

It was, admittedly, creepy to watch somebody else sleep, but he was Will's patient so he had to make sure he was alright.

He wondered whether the boy would still be there when he came back from both his internship and his work this evening. Probably not. He had locked away all his objects of value and put out a cup and a bottle of water for the boy, should he awake while Will was gone. He had also written a short note, telling the boy who he was, that he had helped him and if he wanted, he should stay, because he probably wouldn't manage to walk to the door without falling over. Will was a nice person like that.

With one last nod to himself, the blonde boy left his flat and the boy.

Later on, while sitting next to Mellie, a friendly woman, behind the front desk, he allowed himself to think about the dark haired boy passed out on his sofa. In the last two hours, he had managed to forget about the boy and focus completely on his work. Now, he had nothing to do. Mellie was typing something on her computer and Will was bored. He hated this, sitting behind the desk and greeting family members instead of helping out with saving lives.

His thoughts drifted towards his guest and he started wondering if he had woken up yet. Would he still be there when Will came home later? If not, would he ever see him again?

"Will!", a voice called and one of the doctors came through the door leading to the rooms. She made a 'Come here'-motion with her hand.

Will jumped up from his chair, waved at Mellie and then ran towards the doctor. She smiled at him and shook her head slightly.

"We have a few patients we have to treat, would you like to come?", she asked, obviously already knowing the answer.

The two of them walked up the stairs and then down the hall, to the first room. After checking in on the patient and prescribing him a pill against his stomach ache, they went to the next.

"Can I ask you something?", Will asked, finally mustering his courage.

He had meant to ask this since coming here nearly three hours ago.

"Sure", Doctor Kerr said.

She scribbled down something on her clipboard, smiled at the patient and the motioned for Will to talk.

"What is the best treatment for scratches? Or scrapes for that matter?", he asked.

Doctor Kerr gave him a curious look. "Depends on how big they are"

"Uh pretty big", Will said, remembering the torn flesh of the boy's left body side.

They had already left the room and Doctor Kerr stopped in her tracks, turning around. "What did you do?"

Will gulped.

"Nothing, my...friend...had an accident and can't afford the hospital bills so he asked for a treatment that was cheap", Will lied.

He felt so bad for lying to her, but it was the only way. He couldn't just go 'Oh, I found a dude on the streets who is a member of a dangerous gang and I'm fixing up his wounds. Any tips?'. Doctor Kerr narrowed her eyes, but didn't ask more of it.

"There is this salve called 'Ambrosia', it should work, doesn't cost too much either.", she said after a short awkward silence.

Will nodded happily.

* * *

When Will came home, he breathed a sigh of relief. The boy was still sleeping on the sofa. The water and the note were untouched, so he guessed that he hadn't woken up yet. Will cleaned them away, before kneeling next to the boy and slowly lifting the blanket. The wounds looked still about the same as last night, except for the stab wound which was covered by a bandage, so he couldn't check.

Will took out the small package he had just bought, glad that the money wasn't wasted. Inside was a tube and Will carefully pressed some of the salve into his hand. He began applying the salves on the scratches and the scrapes, careful not to tear them open.

The touch must have roused the boy, because he suck in a sharp breath and then opened his eyes slowly.

The dark brown eyes looked unfocused, flitting around but not really seeing anything. Then they focused on Will. The boy frowned and then tried to scoot away from Will. He winced, when his arm collided with the back of the sofa.

"Yeah, that's broken", Will told him.

The boy looked at him in utter confusion.

"I'm Will by the way. I brought you here and fixed your wounds, I don't know how good of a job I did, but I hope I helped. What's your name?", Will started to ramble, thankfully catching himself before it got to much.

They boy frowned and then tried to stand up.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you", Will quickly said, pushing him back down. "I can get you a pillow behind your back, but standing is not a good idea"

"I-I have to-", the boy started saying, but then started to cough slightly.

"You won't do anything for the next few days. I don't want you to go and then fall over dead, just after I used all my stuff on you", Will scolded. The boy scowled at him.

"You can't make me stay here", he said. His voice sounded hoarse and kind of like he had a very dry throat.

"Yes I can", Will just responded, standing up.

He went over to his cupboard, filled up a cup of water and brought it back to the boy.

"Here, you should drink", he said, handing him the cup.

Then he helped the boy into a somewhat sitting position. He took the offered cup hesitantly and looked at it skeptically.

"It's not poisoned", Will said.

Slowly the boy lifted it to his mouth and nipped on it. After apparently deciding it was safe, the whole water vanished in one gulp. Will stared at it, speechless.

"That is not healthy", he breathed out.

The boy shrugged and immediately cried out in pain.

"Uh, dude, don't, you got stabbed there or something. Do you want to tell me what happened?", Will asked.

Hopefully he would talk. Will was practically dying of curiosity.

"Who did you say you are again? And can I have more water?", the boy asked.

Voice still hoarse, but not nearly as dry. Will picked up the bottle from beside him and poured the boy another cup.

"Don't drink to fast", he advised before handing the cup over.

"Anyway, I'm Will. I'm in college, studying to become a doctor, that's how I could help you. I'm only in my third year, nearly 21. And you?", he said, once the boy had drank something, thankfully not as fast as before.

"I'm Nico", came the quiet answer.

Will gave the boy – Nico – a bright smile.

"Nice to meet you, Nico!"

 **I hope you liked it**

 **See you sometime next week**

 **~thegoddesskym**


	4. How Will finds out the truth (sort of)

**Hello!**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - How Will finds out the truth (sort of)**

Nico had fallen asleep shortly after his introduction, so Will was left to himself.

He took the box of Chinese Take-Away out of the fridge and heated it up in the microwave, then sat down on a chair at the table. He pulled his laptop towards him, followed by some of his medical books, ready to continue writing on his paper. He wrote down a whole of two sentences, before he looked over towards Nico.

He hadn't gotten anymore information out of him, other than his name, but Will was fine with that. He was glad he didn't have to call him 'the boy' anymore.

The food tasted delicious, even after warming it up, and Will made a mental note to go to the place more often.

Focusing back on his task, he wrote down another sentence, before his gaze and his thoughts traveled again. Will slapped himself against the forehead when he noticed his staring.

"Focus, Solace!", he muttered.

After another ten minutes of doing nothing, he gave up.

Instead he opened the search bar and typed in 'gang logos'. He went to pictures and scrolled through them for a bit, before changing his question to 'gang logos Manhattan'. There were noticeably less results and Will started searching for the one on Nico's bandana, just to make sure he was right. He found it after a few seconds and was ready to click on it, when his gaze fell on the picture next to it. There were two women in the picture, both taking mugshots. They looked completely different except for a little tattoo they shared. The had both a Omega sign, the woman on the left had it on her shoulder, peeking out from under her shirt, the woman on the right had hers on the back of the hand holding the sign.

Will scrolled down and found the Omega twice again. Yep, this was definitely a gang logo. He looked over at Nico, who was still sleeping. Same tattoo.

Will was confused. He had a tattoo of the logo of one gang, but was wearing the bandana of another. To which did he belong? Did he change loyalties? Was he a spy? Did he break into the base of the Titánio Kai Gígantes and used the bandana as a costume? Was he captured and forced to become a member?

Will hadn't even noticed he had started pacing until he slammed into his fridge.

The sound woke Nico up again, and the dark haired boy sat up, frowning slightly. Will blushed bright red and ducked his head in shame.

"Sorry for waking you", he muttered.

It was dark already outside and Will nearly cursed. He had lessons tomorrow and if he didn't go to bed soon he would be tired through the whole day.

"You should sleep, let your body rest", Will advised the other boy.

He went to clean up his food and after he got no response, he was ready to disappear behind his divider and go to sleep.

"Uh...Will?", came the quiet voice of his patient.

Will turned around to look at him in question.

"Can I...uh...take a shower?"

Will hadn't thought of that. Nico was still mostly covered in blood, grime and sweat, not exactly pleasant. He was also still wearing black skinny jeans, which must be pretty uncomfortable to sleep in.

"Sure", Will said, then he backtracked. "But I don't know if it is a good idea with the...you now"

Will made a vague gesture over his own shoulder, but apparently Nico understood. He looked down.

"Oh, right. Well, good night then", he muttered and laid back down.

Will felt bad, but there was nothing he could do. Nico wouldn't be able to take a shower until his stab wound had gotten better and they could take off the bandage. They way it was now, the force of the water would tear open the wound and he would start bleeding again. But, Will told himself, he could get Nico a wet washcloth tomorrow and some fresh clothes. And maybe he could wash his hair.

* * *

The next morning, Will followed up on his thought. After drinking a complete mug of coffee and eating some cereal. He placed an apple, some water and a slice of bread next to Nico, who was still sleeping, then he went into his bathroom. He picked out a fresh tooth brush, a towel and a washcloth, placing them all on the small stool under the window. Then he picked out some clothing and placed it next to it. Satisfied with the result, he returned to the main room and packed his bag.

Before leaving, he wrote a long note explaining everything and then he closed the door.

Walking into the Main Building of Olympus College, Will was swept into a hug.

"Hey there, Lou Ellen", he greeted the lively girl.

Lou Ellen had apparently dyed her hair again, because it was black now. Until two days ago it was bright red. Will sniffed slightly, the smell of fresh hair dye wafting into his nose. Ugh. He never understood why Lou Ellen ruined her hair like this. A lot of the products were better than the ones she was using and not nearly as damaging.

Lou Ellen pulled away and started dragging Will towards one of the benches in the entry hall. They sat down between two Greek style columns and Lou Ellen immediately launched into a story.

"So, we haven't really hung out together in a while, so I thought we could see a movie together or something?", she proposed, finishing her long rant.

Will opened his mouth ready to say 'Sounds good', when he thought back to what his priorities were at the moment.

Wait, since when is Nico a priority?

 _Since you dragged him home and committed your past two days to saving his life_ , a voice said in his head.

Oh, right.

"Sorry Lou, I have a lot to do at the moment", he said, not even lying this time.

Lou Ellen groaned.

"You always have a lot to do", she complained and huffed. "Fine, I'll hang out with Cecil, then"

Then she turned towards him. "By the way, when was the last time you took a shower?"

Will's eyes widened. Did he stink that much? Yeah, he really hadn't had any time to shower since that night two days ago, but he had washed himself.

"Don't worry, you don't stink, or anything, your shampoo smell is gone, is all", Lou Ellen said, snickering. Probably making fun of Will's horrified face.

"Anyway, what is on your mind at the moment? A certain someone, perhaps?", Lou Ellen teased.

Will blushed. Yes there was someone on his mind, just not for that reason.

Her eyes widened comically.

"Oh my god, there _is_ someone on your mind!", she exclaimed.

A few heads turned in their direction and Will scowled at her.

"Can you keep your voice down!", he hissed.

He wanted to tell her that he didn't think about Nico like that, but he never got the chance, because in that moment another boy turned up in front of them.

"Hey, guys!", Cecil greeted.

Lou Ellen grinned and opened her mouth, probably to start telling her about his non existent crush. Will prevented that by clamping his hand over her mouth.

"We have to go to classes", he gritted out between clenched teeth, glaring at both Lou Ellen and Cecil. Apparently, they got the message and kept their mouths shut.

* * *

When he got home that evening, Nico was awake.

Will opened the door, ready to shed his jacket and his bag, when he slammed into a body, sending both of them to the floor. A quiet 'Ow' was heard and Will blinked, coming face to face with his patient. Realizing that he was lying on top of Nico, he quickly scrambled to his feet and then helped the other man up.

"Why are you walking around?", he asked.

He let his eyes travel over the other, checking for any new injuries. He noticed that Nico seemed to have gotten the message and had changed clothes. Also, the dirt and blood had disappeared from his hair.

"I need to go", Nico said urgently.

He tried to walk past Will, but the taller boy blocked his way and quickly closed the door.

"You are not going anywhere. It's a miracle that you can even stand up", Will said.

He took Nico's shoulders and gently pushed him back towards the sofa.

"You don't get it", Nico muttered.

Then, louder, he said: "It's really important that I go now. I'm thankful for your help, but I'm fine now"

Will noticed a small bead of sweat rolling down Nico's neck. The standing seemed to be a bit much for the injured boy. He was definitely not 'fine'.

Will told him as much. Nico looked really annoyed by that and rolled his eyes.

A bit more forceful than before, Will started pushing Nico backwards and guided him to the sofa. While the black haired man sat down and glared at him, the other ran to get the Ambrosia. According to the text written on the package it had to be applied every day until the scrapes disappeared. After he found the salve, he sat down next to Nico.

"Can I?", he asked, pointing to the t-shirt Nico was wearing.

It was one of Will's only dark colored ones – he figured Nico liked dark clothes – and a bit to big for the other. Nico huffed but nodded. If he could he would probably cross his arms.

Will gently lifted the shirt to see the scrapes, pleasantly surprised. The Ambrosia seemed to work well, some of the scrapes had a scab, which was good, the rest looked more pink then red. All in all, they were healing well. The bigger scratches were doing well, also, and Will was positive he could take out the threads tomorrow. After inspecting them, he told Nico to take the shirt off, so he could put the salve on without getting some on the clothing. He gently applied the salve, careful not to press too hard and cause the other pain.

"What did you do to get these?", he asked curiously.

Nico looked over at him and seemed to think of an appropriate answer to this question. It was silent for a while, Nico just staring at him and Will gave up the hope of receiving an answer.

"I jumped out of a car", Nico said, breaking the silence.

Will nearly chocked on air at that.

"What?!", he exclaimed.

Was he joking? He must be joking.

"It crashed into a house shortly after", Nico continued, ignoring Will's outburst.

"Wait, so you were involved in the crash two days ago? With the explosion?", Will asked.

Nico nodded. "Yeah, that was kind of my fault, but also the fault of somebody else."

Will stared at him with an open mouth. It was Nico's fault the car crashed? He knew that there was something off about the accident but he didn't think it was planned. Was it planned? It must be, why would anybody voluntarily crash a car into a house?

"Why did you do that?", Will asked. He barely noticed how hysterical he sounded.

Nico gave him a pained look, like he didn't want to talk about it.

"Long story", he said.

Will's eyes drifted to the tattoo on Nico's chest. He tapped it.

"Does it have anything to do with that?", he asked.

Will didn't want to admit it, but he feared the answer.

"Or with that?", he continued, nodding towards the green bandana lying on the table.

Nico's eyes flickered towards the piece of clothing and he pulled a face.

"Why do you still have that thing?", he muttered.

Apparently it wasn't meant for Will to be heard, so he pretended he didn't. Nico turned his gaze back towards Will's face. He looked angry but there was also an undertone of curiosity in his eyes.

"How do you know what that is?", he asked.

"I...uh...Google", Will stuttered. The look unnerved him a lot. Was he going to get stabbed now? "It's a gang logo, right?"

Nico sighed and nodded. He tore his gaze away from Will and looked at the hand in his lap.

"It has something to do with it and that's also why I really need to go", Nico said quietly.

Somehow, Will was disappointed. He really wanted to know more, but on the other hand he didn't. Will was a med student, a perfectly normal guy, he didn't want to get involved with anything that had to do with the dark side of New York. So, why was he disappointed? Sometimes Will didn't even make sense to himself.

"Why do you need to go? What is so important?", he asked, a last attempt at getting Nico to stay.

It was because he worried about his health, no other reasons.

"Because I killed two members of a rival gang and they are definitely searching for me. Also, there is something very important I have to tell somebody.", Nico said, voice completely devoid of any emotion.

"Oh", Will made.

He didn't expect that. He knew that these gangs were brutal and their members killed each other, but he couldn't imagine Nico to do that. He just didn't seem like the type to do something like that. It was probably because Will had seen Nico in such a vulnerable state that he couldn't imagine him harming anybody. Actually, just picturing Nico as a member of such a gang was hard. From what he had seen on TV and in the newspaper, gang members weren't exactly the most beautiful of people, covered in tattoos, bald and addicted to drugs. Nico was none of these things.

"I didn't even know gang members could be so handsome"

Nico's head snapped up and he stared at him in shock.

"What?", he asked, his voice high pitched.

Will blinked at him and then turned into a tomato.

"Did I just say that out loud?", he asked in a panicked whisper.

"Uh...yeah"

"Oh"

Will shifted uncomfortably and looked away. Just no eye contact and everything will turn out fine.

After a few awkward minutes, Nico started moving around, picking up the shirt and pulling it back on. He obviously struggled with it and it caused him pain, but Will was unwilling to help. If he did that he had to look at him and then he would turn red again and couldn't the earth just swallow him already?

Telling another guy that he was handsome just after said guy told him he had killed someone. How wrong was that? What was wrong with Will that he thought something like that? Not the part about Nico being a guy, Will knew that he was gay and he was totally fine with that, but the timing was just horrible. And yes, Nico was handsome, and yes Will was aware of that, but you don't just say that out loud.

He was ripped out of his thoughts by Nico standing up and taking a few wobbly steps towards the door. He didn't came far because his legs gave out and he had to hold on to the sofa or he would fall over.

Immediately, Will was by his side, helping him to stand.

"What do you think you're doing?", he hissed.

"Leaving", Nico responded. He scowled at Will, who glared right back.

"You can't even walk to the door without falling over and you plan to walk who knows how far through the city? Forget it!", he said.

"There is a little something called the subway", Nico responded.

"You are staying, doctor's orders"

Will picked Nico up and then sat him down on the sofa again, ignoring the man's protest of "You are not even a real doctor!"


End file.
